This is going to be a great show

[Tigermike 4,286]

This is going to be a great show

The coming spectacle of seating IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich's choice for the vacated Senate seat of Barack Obama promises to be quite a show.

You have a sitting governor charged with corruption in government, specifically a little pay-to-play scandal concerning the Obama Senate seat refusing to step down as demanded and appointing a replacement anyway.

You have the replacement, former IL AG Roland Burris, determined to take the appointment even after calling Gov. Rod Blagojevich's actions "appalling".

You have the IL Secretary of State claiming he won't sign the appointment of Burris when it is pretty clear he simply doesn't have the legal authority to do anything about it.

link

You have former Black Panther and IL Rep Bobby Rush introducing the race card saying it is wrong to "hang and lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointer." "Hang" and especially "lynch" are racially loaded words and Rush knows that very well. link

You have Burris deciding that if all else fails, race baiting is a fine way to procede saying on NBC's "Today" show :

"It is a fact, there are no African-Americans in the United States Senate," he said. "Is it racism that is taking place? That's a question that someone may raise."

And finally you have my favorite player - Harry Reid. Reid thinks there something in play with this nonsense about the IL Secretary of State not signing the appointment (legal scholars seem to think that doesn't matter one whit) and his plan adds to the spectacle: link

Should Burris appear in Washington without that certification, armed police officers stand ready to bar him from the Senate floor, said a Democratic official briefed on Senate leaders' plans.

The real pity?

Here is one heck of a juicy scandal and not a Bush or Rove in sight to blame it on. Nope, this one is all Democrat and - here's a late prediction - one of many, many to come.

Enjoy.

[TigerHeat 9]

This is going to be a great show

The coming spectacle of seating IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich's choice for the vacated Senate seat of Barack Obama promises to be quite a show.

You have a sitting governor charged with corruption in government, specifically a little pay-to-play scandal concerning the Obama Senate seat refusing to step down as demanded and appointing a replacement anyway.

You have the replacement, former IL AG Roland Burris, determined to take the appointment even after calling Gov. Rod Blagojevich's actions "appalling".

You have the IL Secretary of State claiming he won't sign the appointment of Burris when it is pretty clear he simply doesn't have the legal authority to do anything about it.

link

You have former Black Panther and IL Rep Bobby Rush introducing the race card saying it is wrong to "hang and lynch the appointee as you try to castigate the appointer." "Hang" and especially "lynch" are racially loaded words and Rush knows that very well. link

You have Burris deciding that if all else fails, race baiting is a fine way to procede saying on NBC's "Today" show :

"It is a fact, there are no African-Americans in the United States Senate," he said. "Is it racism that is taking place? That's a question that someone may raise."

And finally you have my favorite player - Harry Reid. Reid thinks there something in play with this nonsense about the IL Secretary of State not signing the appointment (legal scholars seem to think that doesn't matter one whit) and his plan adds to the spectacle: link

Should Burris appear in Washington without that certification, armed police officers stand ready to bar him from the Senate floor, said a Democratic official briefed on Senate leaders' plans.

The real pity?

Here is one heck of a juicy scandal and not a Bush or Rove in sight to blame it on. Nope, this one is all Democrat and - here's a late prediction - one of many, many to come.

Enjoy.

Karl Rove planned this whole thing to try to gin up an impeachment of Carter Obama.

[OldNewby 27]

Reid pressured Blagojevich not to appoint Jackson Jr. to Obama’s U.S. Senate seat

January 2, 2009

BY NATASHA KORECKI, CHRIS FUSCO AND LYNN SWEET

Days before Gov. Blagojevich was charged with trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder, top Senate Democrat Harry Reid made it clear who he didn’t want in the post: Jesse Jackson, Jr., Danny Davis or Emil Jones.

Rather, Reid called Blagojevich to argue he appoint either state Veterans Affairs chief Tammy Duckworth or Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, sources told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Sources say the Senate majority leader pushed against Jackson and Davis — both democratic congressmen from Illinois — and against Jones — the Illinois Senate president who is the political godfather of President-elect Barack Obama — because he did not believe the three men were electable. He feared losing the seat to a Republican in a future election.

Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero confirmed that Reid (D-Nev.) and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) — the new chief of the Senate Democratic political operation — each called Blagojevich’s campaign office separately Dec. 3. Sources believe that at least portions of the phone conversations are on tape.

Before their contacts, Obama’s chief of staff Rahm Emanuel called Blagojevich to tell him to expect to hear from Senate leadership because they were pushing against Jackson and others, according to statements the governor made to others.

The Reid-Menendez calls came a day before a Dec. 4 conversation overheard on government wiretaps where Blagojevich says he “was getting ‘a lot of pressure’ not to appoint Candidate 5.” Candidate 5 is Jackson.

The calls reveal the varying forces directed at Blagojevich as he weighed the appointment.

Duckworth is the wounded Iraq war veteran who was tapped by Blagojevich for the state post after she lost a House race in 2006. Duckworth’s entry in the House contest was championed by U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) with her campaign assisted by Emanuel, who was running the House political operation at the time, and Obama. David Axelrod, Obama’s chief presidential campaign strategist, was Duckworth’s media consultant for her House race.

Madigan is supported by her powerful father Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan.

A Jackson spokesman said the congressman believes he could attain statewide support.

“Congressman Jackson was encouraged that two independent statewide polls confirmed that he was the most popular Democrat to succeed Barack,” Jackson spokesman Rick Bryant said. “The polls also showed he was in a strong position to win reelection in 2010, drawing strong support from virtually every demographic group.”

Jim Manley, spokesman for Reid, acknowledged Friday that Reid called Blagojevich as well as other governors who had Senate vacancies in their respective states.

“Of course Sen. Reid spoke to the governor of Illinois -- just as he spoke to the governors of New York and Colorado when senators from those states accepted jobs in the new administration,’’ Manley said. “It is part of his job as majority leader to share his thoughts about candidates who have the qualities needed to succeed in the Senate.”

Reid declined to reveal the specific names discussed, saying he didn’t want to embarrass anyone.

Though Menendez did talk with Blagojevich about the appointment, he “did not suggest any names and he did not discourage the appointment of anyone,’’ said Matt Miller, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee which Menendez chairs.

Blagojevich was arrested Dec. 9 on charges he tried to sell Obama’s vacant seat in exchange for campaign funds, a job or ambassadorship.

On Tuesday, he appointed former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to the post.

Reid, as well as other Senators, have vowed to block the move. At a news conference naming Burris, U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) told reporters he backed Burris because it was important that an African American hold a post in the U.S. Senate.

An Obama transition team spokeswoman would not comment, referring reporters to a report released by Obama’s transition team before Christmas.

The report did not specify the contact between Emanuel and the governor.

A spokesman for Jones could not be reached for comment. A Davis spokesman declined comment.

[Auburn85 438]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/us/13burris.html?ref=us

Burris Will Take His Seat as a Senator From Illinois

WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic leaders said Monday that Roland W. Burris would be seated as the new senator from Illinois, resolving a conflict that had drawn the Senate into a corruption scandal surrounding Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich.

After a review of a new letter from the Illinois secretary of state affirming Mr. Burris’s appointment, the two top Senate Democrats — Harry Reid of Nevada and Richard J. Durbin of Illinois — said his paperwork now complied with Senate rules.

“We have spoken to Mr. Burris to let him know that he is now the senator-designate from Illinois and as such will be accorded all the rights and privileges of a senator-elect,” they said in a statement.

Senate officials said they were planning to swear in Mr. Burris this week, a remarkable turn of events considering the Democrats’ previous insistence that he would not be seated.

At issue are the circumstances of Mr. Burris’s appointment by Mr. Blagojevich, who has been accused of trying to trade the appointment for personal gain. The Illinois House impeached Mr. Blagojevich last week.

In Illinois, Mr. Burris, 71, said he was “truly humbled and honored to learn that later this week I will officially be sworn into the United States Senate as the Illinois junior senator.”

Mr. Burris, a former state attorney general, has testified that he had made no deals with Mr. Blagojevich for the appointment.

The statement by the Senate leaders indicated they no longer planned to ask the Rules Committee to review the appointment, eliminating another hurdle to Mr. Burris’s joining the Senate.

Senate Republicans could still block a swearing-in, but they have shown no eagerness to be drawn into what has been an embarrassing episode for Democrats.

Mr. Burris would give Democrats 58 seats in the Senate. The Senate race in Minnesota is undecided, with the Republican incumbent, Norm Coleman, challenging a recount that awarded the seat to his Democratic opponent, Al Franken.

The decision to end the dispute over the Illinois appointment means that Mr. Burris will replace President-elect Barack Obama as the lone black member of the Senate.

Late last month, Mr. Blagojevich defied the Senate by selecting Mr. Burris, setting off criticism that the appointment was invalid.

As late as midday Friday, Senate officials were insisting that Mr. Burris lacked the necessary credentials — under Senate rules — because the Illinois secretary of state, citing the tainted appointment, refused to sign the governor’s appointment papers.

Mr. Burris’s fortunes began to change after a memorable scene on Capitol Hill last Tuesday, when Democratic leaders rejected his request to be sworn in.

Lacking official standing, Mr. Burris walked quietly back outside on a gray, rainy day, surrounded by a swarm of cameras and journalists who followed his every step across the street for a news conference.

Mr. Burris’s lawyers on Monday hand-carried to the Senate an additional document bearing a state seal, an affirmation of the appointment and a mass-produced signature of the secretary of State, Jesse White.

Those documents, combined with the governor’s original papers, led the secretary of the Senate to deem Mr. Burris’s credentials satisfactory.

The chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, Andy McKenna, criticized Senate leaders for signing off on Mr. Burris’s appointment.

In a statement, he said: “By failing to strip Rod Blagojevich of his Senate appointment power, Democrats chose to trust a madman over the people of Illinois.”

Republicans favor a special election to fill the seat.

Mr. Burris would be eligible to serve through 2010. He said Monday that no decision had been made about whether he would seek to win the seat by election in two years.

[Auburn85 438]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/c...0,7757569.story

Roland Burris to be sworn in Thursday

Appointed U.S. Sen. Roland Burris will be sworn in Thursday, ending the saga of his selection by impeached Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Vice President Dick Cheney, in his role as president of the Senate, will do the honors for Burris about 1 p.m. Central Time on the Senate floor. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the assistant majority leader who initially blocked the appointment, will hold a reception in Burris' honor.

Burris spent Tuesday soaking in praise from aldermen and Mayor Richard Daley.

The City Council approved a resolution lauding Burris for having "the intelligence, character and reason that are the attributes of a great leader."

Several aldermen bemoaned that senators did not seat Burris immediately after Blagojevich appointed him to finish President-elect Barack Obama's Senate term.

Burris declined to say whether he would run for a full term in 2010 and brushed off questions about whether he could raise money for a statewide campaign.

"I wish you all could see what's come into my home and into my office," he said. "There are calls coming in even from Europe, encouraging me. From the state of Maine, from the state of Washington, from the state of Texas, from the state of Florida. Calls coming in, saying, 'Roland, whatever we can do.' "

[RunInRed 19,662]

Karl Rove planned this whole thing to try to gin up an impeachment of Carter Obama.

Let us know how that turns out.